Presently, all aircraft data are processed onboard an aircraft and, when necessary, pilots are relied upon to make the final decision regarding most of the processed data. There are also systems onboard the aircraft that provide situational awareness during certain adverse weather conditions. These adverse conditions may arise, for example, during no- or low-visibility conditions, which may occur during precipitation, fog, snow squalls, and streamers. For such adverse weather conditions, pilots may be debriefed before departure from the airport. However, weather conditions can change dynamically, which means pilots need to make decisions based on available onboard information and, if there is connectivity with the ground, information provided from air traffic control (ATC). If the aircraft is flying over the ocean, communication with the ground may not be available.
In addition to the above, whenever an aircraft is flown below 2000 feet, the pilot needs to be very aware of the terrain. The pilot may receive warnings from an onboard terrain awareness system at various conditions. Such terrain awareness systems may provide warnings during various dynamic operations of the aircraft, and pilots may need to depend on such onboard systems. Yet, some aircraft are not equipped with such systems, and sometimes the onboard terrain databases may not have been updated.
The inability to adapt to dynamic conditions during flight can result in undesirable costs associated with, for example, message exchanges with the ground, increased fuel consumption, inefficient wear of aircraft parts, and the like.
Hence, there is a need for a system that can allows aircraft to readily adapt to dynamic conditions during flight without incurring undesirable costs associated with message exchanges with the ground and/or increased fuel consumption and/or inefficient wear of aircraft parts. The present invention addresses at least this need.